Abstract

Britain is an increasingly diverse and multifaceted society.
Consequently, manifestations of inequality, prejudice and
discrimination are potentially becoming more varied and
complex. The meaning of equality itself is a matter of
considerable debate. Perceptions, attitudes, stereotypes
and emotions permeate social relationships between
groups, whether conflictual or harmonious. How are
different groups perceived? How do images of different
groups map onto prejudice? To what extent do people
experience prejudice directed against themselves? There
is increasing interest in whether Britain is becoming a
more or less tolerant, accepting or indeed coherent
society.
This report describes the findings of a survey which
employed social psychological methods and measures to
assess a range of different aspects of prejudice towards
six significant groups in British society – defined by
gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and religion.
The report examines the values people espouse, their
experiences, and their expressions of prejudice, the
extent that ‘political correctness’ may affect expressions
of prejudice, the social stereotypes underpinning
prejudice, whether prejudice is expressed differently
towards different types of group, and the extent to which
British society is perceived as a cohesive whole or as
being formed of distinct and separate groups. It also
explores whether prejudice is predominantly an issue of
personal attitudes or whether it is rooted more in the
relationships between particular social groups.